Sand-box for street-cars



(No Model.) Y v G. H. HATHAWAY. SAND B0X-POR STREET GARS.

No. 402,523 v Patented Apno. 1889.

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UNITED STATES ,PATENT Orsi-cn.

. GEORGE H. HATHAWAY, OF BOSTON, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO IVILLIAM A. PERRY, OF VINOI-IESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

vSAND-Box FOR STREET-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part'of Letters Patent No. 402,523, dated April 30, 1889.

Serial No. 283,424. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE l-I. l-IATHAWAY, of Boston, Suffolk county, Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sand-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of an automatic ar rangement for sanding the rail in front of a Wheel, and it is more particularly designed for street-cars.

The accompanying drawing represents a longitudinal section of a street-car, showing my improved sanding mechanism applied.

In Patents Nos. 291,341, 336,891, 342,729, and 350,865 I have shown various forms of sandboxes in Which one side of the box consists of a vibrating gate adapted to move the Whole body of sand each time the boX is opened; and as my present improvement is designed to be applied to such a box reference is made to such patents for a more detailed description of that part of the mechanism.

I have found that in practice it is sometimes difticult tooperate the sand-boxes in as continuous a manner as Would be desirable and Lmy present invention has for its object the automatic operation of the sand-box gate by the car-aX'le or other moving part of the car, so that the driver Will only have to start and stop the operation of sanding, and Willbe relieved of the attention and Work heretofore required.

My invention also comprises other combinations, hereinafter claimed.

The sand-box 1 is of the usual pattern,vvith its vibrating gate 2 pivoted at 3 and held closed by the spring 4, as shown in my former patents, above referred to.

I have shown the sand-box properly located underneath the floor of the car, and I propose to use above the floor a feeding-hopper, 5, which will be placed under the seat of the car and Will have a large opening below, so that it may easily discharge its contents into the sand-box l as the latter is emptied. This arrangement of an auxiliary sand-reservoir enables me to carry enough sand to last for the very longest trips, While the former boxes Were sometimes unequal to such a demand.

To operate the sand-box automatically, I pro vide some attachment to a moving part of the car, and I have shown for this purposea cam- Wheel, 6, on the car-axle 7, the said cam-wheel running against a Wheel or finger, S, on the end of sand-box lever 9, the said lever 9 being connected by connectin g-rod l0 to the vibrating gate 2. The sand-box lever 9 is pivoted or fnlcrumed on the end of treadle-lever 1l, Which in turn is fulcrumed on bracket l2, and extends to a point under the platform near the dasher, Where it can be depressed by the driver by means of an adjustable treadle, 13.

It will be seen by an inspection of the drawing that when the driver depresses the treadle 13 the sand-box lever 9 will be elevated, so as to throw the Wheel 8 against the cam-Wheel (5. Thenv as the car-axle rotates the cam-Wheel Will vibrate the lever 9 and alternately open and close the sand-box. The farther the driver depresses the treadle the farther will the sandbox be opened and the more sand deposited on the track.

Vith this apparatus t-he driver may have as much sand as he needs without doing more than merely placing his foot on the treadle and holding it there. It Will therefore not interfere with his other duties, such as putting on the brake or keeping a proper lookout.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. The combination, in a wheeled vehicle, of a sand-box, a gate for controlling" the escape of sand therefrom, and mechanism connected to said gate and to a moving part of Jthe car, so as to automatically discharge the sand, substantially as and for the purpose set forth..

2. The combination, in a railway-vehicle, of a sand-box, a gate for controlling the escape of sand therefrom, mechanism connecting the sand-gate with a moving part of the vehicle, and a device under control of the driver for throwing said mechanism into and out of operation.

3. The combination of a railway-vehicle, a sand-box, a lever for opening thebox, a spring for closing the boX, a cam-Wheel on the axle of the vehicle for operating the said lever, and a treadle connected with the said lever whereby the driver may operate the box at will.

4. The combination of the rail\vay-vehicle,

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:L smul-box carried thereby under the floor7 and au auxiliary sand-reservoir above the oor and opening through the floor into the smid-box below.

5. The combination of a railway-Vehicle with a sand-box, a sand-box lever for operating the same, a cam-Wheel driven by the ear, and :L tremlle under control of the driver :md connected by a lever with the fulorum of the sand-box lever, so that when the treadle is de- 1o pressed the Cam-Wheel will operate the smidbox lever and autonmteally Operate the smulbox.

GEORGE l-I. HATHAVAY.

XVitnesses:

WM. A. PERRY, FRANK L. CREESY. 

